Bystander
by Itsari
Summary: A Hellraiser short, told from the perspective of a witness.


**Bystander**

_A story of Lament_

I'm not crazy, you know. _They_ may think that I am, but I'm not. Let me tell you what I saw, and you'll see that I'm not crazy.

It was only a few days ago, maybe a week; it's hard to keep track of time in here. I was sneaking into a warehouse to, umm, borrow a few things. You know, just some stuff I could make some quick cash off of. I had to go in near the roof, where there was a row of windows that went onto some catwalks. There were these huge fans to help circulate the air in the warehouse.

I was just starting to look for a way down to the warehouse floor, when I spotted a man already down there. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and was kneeling on the floor. I couldn't make it out from that distance, but there was some sort of cube in front of him on the floor. I caught a glint of light off of what seemed to be metal on the cube. There were lights hanging down from the ceiling, and the man was right beneath one, so it was sort of like he had a spotlight on him.

As I watched, the man took the cube into his hands, and started fiddling with it. He was turning it over and over, looking at the different sides on it, and I could see light glinting off of each side. He appeared to be running his fingers over the cube, but I was too far away to really see just what he was doing, or what the patterns on the cube were.

Suddenly, the man's back straightened, and it looked like there was movement from the cube. It actually appeared to be changing shape! As I watched this happen, the warehouse started to vibrate. The lights began to flash, and it was like the air pressure in the entire building suddenly shot up. I was finding it hard to breathe! That's when all the lights went out!

Except it wasn't completely dark. The room below seemed to be somehow backlit. There was a strange hissing, like steam escaping from a vent. I felt, more than heard, a low rumbling. I looked around the warehouse, but couldn't really see anything that might be causing all this to happen. When I looked back toward the man kneeling on the floor, there were four figures standing in front of him! Where did they come from? I noticed an opening in the wall behind them, but there hadn't been a door there. What in hell was going on?

I decided to take a better look at the four new people who had shown up. Something hadn't quite set right about them at first glance. When I looked closer, it seemed that "people" wasn't quite the right word to describe them. They were all dressed in black leather, and were basically person shaped, but the similarities pretty much ended there. They were all paler than death, and seemingly disfigured. None of them had hair.

The one in front, who seemed to be the leader of the bunch, had what looked like a grid pattern carved into his bald head. At every point where the lines crossed, there was what appeared to be a nail driven into his head. He was wearing a long, black skirt, and at his waist I could just make out several objects that seemed to be various knives.

Just to his right, and slightly behind him, was what I think may have been a woman. It looked like there were wires coming out of her face, and the skin on her neck was peeled back.

The other two stood farther back. One was a rather obese man, with large fat rolls around his head and neck. I think he was wearing sunglasses. The fourth member of this motley crew was perhaps the ugliest of them all. He didn't seem to have any eyes, and his lips were pulled far back on his face! He had huge teeth that were constantly chattering.

I tried to shake the creepy feeling that had come over me from examining this group, and pay more attention to what was going on. I think the leader with the pins in his head and the kneeling man were having some sort of conversation. Damn these warehouse fans; I couldn't hear what was being said!

At first, the man seemed to be excited to see them, but as they spoke, his body language started to tell a different story. He was getting scared. From the sweat breaking out on his back, I'd even say he may have been terrified! The leader said something to him, and the man shot bolt upright, and even over the noise of the fans, I heard him scream "NOOOOOOOOO!" Out of nowhere, from every direction, chains with hooks on the end shot toward the man, and the hooks dug deep into his flesh, tugging at him. His skin was pulled, and began to rip. His face was being stretched like a latex balloon. The whole time he was screaming, but he couldn't move from where he was. The chains held him still.

It was a terrible sight, but I couldn't seem to look away! Blood poured from each wound the chains created. The four things just watched, seemingly fascinated. The leader made a sweeping gesture with his hand, and all the chains pulled at once. The man was literally torn into little pieces, right in front of my eyes! Oh my god, I have never seen anything like that!

Through the gore that was left, the leader just strode forward, leaned down, and picked the cube up off the floor. He moved his fingers over the object, and it changed shape again, back into the cube it had started as. The other three had already moved toward the opening in the wall. The leader now turned to follow them. Just before he passed through it, I swear, he turned his head and looked right at me! Like he saw me, lurking up in the shadows! Then he strode through the opening, and the wall just closed behind him, as if he and his group had never even been there.

The look he gave me sent chills through my entire body. As quickly as I could, I went back out through the window, climbed down to the ground, and just started to run. I don't know how long I ran, or how far I went, but I ran until I was exhausted. I collapsed on the ground, and I think I passed out for awhile. When I came to, there were police around me, and I could see other people in the background, straining their necks to get a good look. I tried to tell them what I had seen, but they just looked at me oddly, and whispered to each other. They pulled me up and put me in one of their squad cars. Where could they want to take me?

I passed out again in the police car, and when I woke up this time, I was in what appeared to be the lobby of a hospital. They had me in a straight jacket, and two large men dressed in all white were dragging me toward a door. The door opened into a long hall, and I don't know how far they dragged me. All I know is that I was screaming and kicking the whole way.

Eventually, a doctor came to see me. He was very kind, and listened to my story. He seemed very sympathetic, and afterward told me everything was going to be alright. He had his orderlies take me to a small room with padded walls. He even had them take the straight jacket off me.

So now, I sit here in this room, waiting for my hearing. I _know _what I saw was real. They think I'm crazy, but I'm not.

It sure was nice of Dr. Channard to give me this puzzle box to occupy my mind while I wait. Now, if only I could solve it. It almost feels like the box is calling to me, begging to be solved…

* * *

Note: I wrote this story way back in 2003. For those of you keeping score, it takes place sometime before, or perhaps even during, the events of Hellraiser II: Hellbound.


End file.
